CHARLOTTETOWN – Three top Island coaches will be recognized next month as Sport P.E.I. hosts its annual amateur sports awards banquet.

Finalists for P.E.I. Mutual coach of the year are Colin MacDonald (wrestling), Forbes MacPherson (hockey) and Scott Morrison (basketball).

Tickets are now available for the banquet, which will be held at the Rodd Royalty in Charlottetown on Friday, April 11. For more information on tickets, contact Sport P.E.I.’s Nick Murray at 368-4547.

Colin MacDonald

Colin MacDonald has been a driving force behind Wrestling on P.E.I., and he guided Hannah Taylor and Lorena Ellis to silver medals at the 2013 Canada Summer Games.

MacDonald has put his time in at all levels of the sport, from the grassroots programs in Charlottetown and Montague, to provincial teams and medal success at nationals, Eastern Canadians and national events. The athletes’ successes are due in no small part to what MacDonald puts in to the program.

Enthusiastic, dedicated and committed, MacDonald is the Wrestling P.E.I. leader in coaching certification, and is the learning facilitator for the sport. His professionalism and hard work as a volunteer coach have seen wrestling become extremely popular, especially for females in the province, and he is widely respected by all in the sport.

Forbes MacPherson

Ask any hockey fan in the province what is the hottest ticket in town, and the answer will be when the UPEI Panthers have a game at MacLauchlan Arena.

The credit for the popularity of the men’s program lies without doubt at the door of fifth-year head coach and Stratford native Forbes MacPherson.

Competing in the ultra-competitive Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference, MacPherson has turned the program into a top-10 regular in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) rankings. Although the team has just fallen short of making it to the AUS final, every year under MacPherson’s tenure the team has been competitive, combining a never-say-die attitude with great skills.

His commitment to excellence has resulted in the team receiving numerous AUS all-stars and All-Canadians. MacPherson received his reward by being named as assistant coach to Team Canada, which won the gold medal at the recent World University Games in Italy. Four Panthers were on that team.

Scott Morrison

Success at the varsity level has also been enjoyed by Morell native Scott Morrison, and the 10-year veteran head coach at Lakehead University led his team to a silver medal at the CIS championship in 2013, putting together an incredible run before falling to the powerhouse Carleton Ravens in the final.

It was an incredible year for Morrison, who is a former Ontario University Athletics (OUA) coach of the year. He was named by Basketball Canada to be an assistant on the Canadian men’s junior team that finished sixth in the world championship in Prague, tying their best-ever finish, and he will be part of the Canadian under-18 team that competes at worlds in Colorado Springs in June.

Morrison took a one-year leave from Lakehead in the fall of 2013, when he was asked to work with the Maine Red Claws, farm team of the Boston Celtics, in scouting and player development.